Mike Tomlin's Steelers squad has issues this season, but nothing like what the Chiefs are dealing with. / Charles LeClaire, US Presswire

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

BALTIMORE - Mike Tomlin took his team to New York this season and won a game when they had to travel on the day of the game due to Superstorm Sandy. He inspired his squad to win against an arch-rival on Sunday, when few figured they had a chance without Ben Roethlisberger. And all season, he has sorted through a patchwork of combinations to address one injury after another.

Yet as he left M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, the ultra-confident Pittsburgh Steelers coach realized he still isn't sure exactly what he'll say to Romeo Crennel, his Kansas City Chiefs colleague dealing with murder and suicide.

"I've got to think about it," Tomlin said, walking through a tunnel after the 23-20 victory against the Baltimore Ravens. "Obviously, I have to acknowledge the situation with the proper respect.

"I can't imagine what they're going through. Every now and then, tragic things happen in this business that you deal with, but I can't tell you what I'd do in that situation."

No one knows what they would do. That message was repeated by players from both teams after the work day on Sunday, all undoubtedly touched by the tragedy in Kansas City involving Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, then drove to the team's headquarters and took his own life in front of Crennel, general manager Scott Pioli and defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs.

Both teams prayed on the tragedy. But typically in cases of this sort, no one could begin to explain why it happened.

"We prayed on Saturday night," said Ravens safety Ed Reed. "We prayed for the families, we prayed for the little girl. Regardless of the facts, that's about all you can do."

Sure, Belcher played football. That made the tragedy hit home by mere association.

When the news broke on Saturday morning, it dominated whatever conversation that wasn't related to Sunday's game within the Steelers ranks.

There was a range of opinions. Guard Willie Colon took the opinion that Sunday's game in Kansas City should have been postponed, or cancelled, as part of the grieving process. Linebacker Larry Foote said it should be a wakeup call for the need to aggressively combat domestic violence issues.

"The biggest thing we talked about was how close we are, and how tough it would be for us to move on and play football when a situation like this happens," said Steelers safety Ryan Clark. "It's not over. That child (the infant daughter of Perkins and Belcher) is going to have to grow up and be taken care of."

Colon's agent, Joe Linta, also represented Belcher. But Colon didn't know that until Sunday morning and had never met Belcher.

He was struck, though, by Belcher's decision to take his life at Arrowhead Stadium.

"He went to the facility," Colon said. "It was like he was going to his other family. He could've gone into the woods and done that. Why did he go there?"

Colon shook his head.

"It's like, we really spend more time with each other on this team, than we do with our families," he said.

In no way, was Colon making an excuse. Like so many, he is searching for answers.

"I'm not going to speak positively about that guy," Foote said. "I hope he rests in peace. It doesn't matter that he played football. He's like anybody else. And this is something that, psychologically, we've got to get a handle on as a society.

"As a father, with a daughter, a sister and nieces, as men, we've got to do something about that type of violence against women.